Annual General Meeting of the EVU

EVU Board: Dr. I. Medkova, B. Rütting, S DeLeo, Dr. M. Hebbelinck, H. Scholvien, Dr. I. Bukovsky, H. van Boven, Dr. C. Psquine, U. Troeng, R. Pichler 1) Roll Call The Roll Call started at 19.15. Present were at the beginning of the meeting:74 participants (see added list ), 24 with voting right and 50 guests.There was no apology from Alessandra Schiona from Italy. 2) Opening by the President The President of EVU, Prof. Dr. Marcel Hebbelinck, opened the Annual General Meeting at 20.10. He thanked all the representatives and participants for coming and being interested in the business of EVU. Prof: Hebbelinck introduced the board members to the participants. Hildegund Scholvien was appointed to take the minutes of the meeting. 3) Minutes of the last AGM (Villa Schaaffhausen, Germany) There was a remark by Tina Fox to point 10/d, that is not the VSUK that gives grants to organisations which promote youth work, but the Vegetarian Charity. The minutes will be altered accordingly. All other remarks were postponed to give the representatives time to read the minutes thoroughly. It was pointed out, that only those representatives could make remarks, who had been present at the AGM in 1998. It was agreed, that the minutes will be regarded as accepted, if no further remarks are reported to the council until the end of the congress. 4) Report of the Secretary Sigrid De Leo reported that almost all her time, efforts, and financial activities in the past year had concerned the congress. She appreciated the help of her family, especially of her daughter Francesca, who did all the bookings, and of Renato Pichler, the deputy secretary, who helped with his technical knowledge. She also appreciated the SAPW donation of 20.000 and 5.000 Swiss Francs, which were a great help in the beginning to get started with, as the secretary took all the financial responsibility onto herself. Besides the congress activities the secretary was occupied with letters, faxes, e-Mail, a lot of inquiries for instance about the number of vegetarians in the different countries in Europe, about the tendency to alternative products, about vegetarian restaurants, and from students who needed material for their studies. The secretary excused herself , that EVU-News could not appear as regularly as the members were used to in the previous years, but that was due to the amount of work for the congress. Nevertheless, EVU-News is our most important means of communication besides the Internet. However, besides the other tremendously increasing secretarial work, it is too much work for a voluntary secretary. There has to be found a solution for the future, also for the financial situation, as many of the expenses are paid privately. The President thanked Sigrid De Leo for her personal devotion to the job and her excellent work. The report of the secretary was approved unanimously. 5) Report of the treasurer The treasurer Hildegund Scholvien pointed out, that according to the figures in the written report, money for the EVU is still very short. In 1998 there was actually a loss of 1971,07 DEM. As there is no realistic prospect to reduce the expenses, they are already reduced to a minimum, we must find other source of income. We hope for a financial success of the congress, and of at least some income through the label. Nevertheless the EVU is not bankrupt yet because of the assets in the Netherlands, but that money will be used to promote the label. There was a remark on the banking costs, but the treasurer pointed out, that at least some banking costs cannot be avoided. The bank itself does not charge any money for the account, but it charges money for income from abroad if it is not in DEM. The treasurer asked all members of the EVU to pay their contribution in a way that avoids banking costs. 6) Reports of the auditors Both auditors, Dr. Hildegard Hoppe-Strobel and Mathilde Gro§ were present and stated, that they have checked the financial documents and found them in good order. Their report in writing was given with the files for the representatives. The President thanked the treasurer and the auditors for their work. The reports of the treasurer and the auditors were approved by acclamation. The auditors were re-appointed unanimously for the next year. 7) Elections The President reminded those present that he was not standing for re-election any more. Dr. Igor Bukovsky from Bratislava, the deputy President, had accepted, after long discussions, to stand for President, but only for two years, as he is very busy and has not much time to spend on the job. All the other council members expressed their readiness to help and support Dr. Bukovsky. With no vote against and 1 abstention Dr. Igor Bukovsky was elected President of the EVU. Dr. Bukovsky accepted the election. Congratulations were expressed by the outgoing President, the council members and the participants. Renato Pichler, the deputy secretary, was re-elected with no votes against and 1 abstention. Hildegund Scholvien, the treasurer, was re-elected unanimously. By the change of Dr. Bukovsky from deputy President to President, there arose a vacancy on the position of the vice President, which had to be filled.The council proposed Hans van Boven, the officer in charge of the marketing of the label.He was elected by no votes against and 1 abstention.After the election of Hans van Boven as deputy President, a position as board member had to be filled again.The council proposed Ulla Troeng from Sweden, as a contact person for the congress in 2003 was needed. Ulla Troeng was elected unanimously. (See the EVU Board for further representatives) 8) Proposal by the board for the amendment of the constitution The following sentence shall be added to clause 13.1 of the constitution: "After his or her resignation the immediate past President (chairperson) may remain a member of the executive committee in an advisory capacity". With no votes against and one abstention the addition to the constitution was accepted. 9) EVU logo Hans van Boven, the label marketing officer, explained the conditions for use of the label.France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland have already signed a licensing contract. Some products in Switzerland are already labelled with the EVU logo, they are shown at the stall of the Swiss Vegetarian Society. We hope for more products after another year. Arne Wingqvist (Sweden) asked about vegan products and how they are labelled. Christopher Fettes (TEVA) asked about the copyright for the label. Sigrid De Leo explained that the author and his daughter had given their consent to use the label in this way. Tina Fox (VSUK) expressed her concerns regarding the ingredients, GMO products, animal testing, and manufacturing processes. Hans van Boven explained, how the EVU is going to handle these problematic items, and Prof. Hebbelinck gave scientific information as far as the control of GMO products was concerned. Brian Jacobs expressed his concerns, that the EVU might give support to the dairy industries by labelling and thus promoting milk and cheese. The chairman pointed out, that we are a vegetarian and not a vegan union, and even if the board is mostly vegan, the vegetarians are an important target group of EVU work. They should not be neglected beside the vegans. Whenever the products carrying the EVU logo are vegan, this will be clearly marked. 10) Strategies for future work The President explained what had been done or - because of other commitments - not been done from the suggestions of the AGM before. Other interventions: The secretary asked the member societies for their written reports to be included in EVU News. A suggestion was made to create an emblem for EVU to demonstrate the responsibility towards world hunger. A suggestion was made to have more workshops during congresses. A suggestion was made to have common events with Vegans International, Peta etc. A suggestion was made to send an observer (Prof. Hebbelinck?) to EU committees. 11. Relationship EVU/IVU Prof. Hebbelinck reported the more or less unpleasant developments since Bussolengo. There was quite a long debate about the position of EVU in or besides IVU and the different opinions concerning that position. During this congress a proposal has been elaborated to solve the problem. The EVU council has given its consent, the IVU council will be asked by e-mail and is supposed to decide by postal ballot. EVU wants and offers co-operation, not conflict. 12. The EVU congress in Widnau, experiences, difficulties, highlights etc. The secretary, who has done almost all the work, had explained the matter already in her report. She apologized for the late hour of this meeting. 13. Bids for congresses in 2001 There are no real bids, although some proposals: Turkey. Victor Ananias does good work in his society, they need support from Western countries. Bulgaria. Barbara Rütting has good contacts with a doctor in Bulgaria, who has experiences in organising bigger events and would be likely to organise a congress for EVU. A congress near Maastricht , organised by The Netherlands, the Flemish Society in Belgium and the German Vegetarier-Bund. After a longer discussion, the assembly voted on Turkey first: the proposal was unanimously accepted. Representatives of EVU will go to Turkey and check the conditions. 14. Motions No motions reached the secretary before the deadline of May 1st 1999. 15. Miscellaneous There was a suggestion to compose a vegetarian hymn. No one against. Prof. Hebbelinck would like to see a wooden gavel with the EVU emblem for use during sessions. A conference statement has been prepared for the international press. There was a suggestion to plant a tree (preferably a nut tree) as a remembrance to this congress. The secretary will try to arrange it. Official documents should be checked by native speakers. Dr. Claude Pasquini conveyed greetings from Krystyna Chomicz-Jung from Poland, who after her bad attack in the US, had recovered well and worked again at Warsaw University. It was agreed to send her a postcard from the congress. Following a suggestion it was agreed to make a group photograph of the new board and later one of all the participants. Prof. Hebbelinck and Dr. Pasquini offered to use their homes for business meetings of EVU. The President expressed his thanks to all participants for their interest and patience in holding out to the end. Thanks from the new President to the outgoing President. The chairman closed the meeting at 11.00 p.m. Prof. Dr. Marcel Hebbelinck, President Hildegund Scholvien, Treasurer